Stjepan Đureković (8 August 1926 – 28 July 1983) was a Croatian political dissident and businessman who was assassinated by the Yugoslavian State Security Administration (UDBA) in West Germany in 1983. He was previously the CEO of the state-owned INA petrol company. In 1982, he defected to West Germany and became active in Croatian émigré circles opposed to

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

Early life

Đureković was born in Bukovac near Petrovaradin. During World War II he avoided service in the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...

's armed forces to join the Partisans.Dossier: Slučaj Perković ili tko su hrvatski obavještajci
24sata.hr; accessed 20 January 2016.

Business career in FPR/SFR Yugoslavia

After the war he rose to a position within INA.

Relocation to West Germany

After falling out with the government he defected to

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

in 1982 where he became involved with the Croatian National Committee, an

Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionar ...

-linked organization. Together with Ivan Botić he published ''Yugoslavia in crisis'', in which the two argued that Yugoslavia's large inflation rate and unemployment was resulting in the exploitation of Croatian resources.

Assassination

Đureković was assassinated in Wolfratshausen,

by UDBA agents in 1983 in "Operation Dunav". Đureković's remains were reburied at

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

's Mirogoj cemetery in 1999. In 2005, Germany issued an arrest warrant on Josip Perković for his involvement in the assassination. Krunoslav Prates was also put on trial on charges relating to the crime. The German court trying Prates threatened to take action against Croatian officials who obstructed testimony at the trial, including Croatian president Stjepan Mesić. In 2008, Krunoslav Prates was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the assassination. In 2009, Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office issued warrants for Zdravko Mustač, Ivan Cetinić, Ivan Lasić and Boris Brnelić for involvement in the murder as members of the UDBA. In October 2009, German police arrested Luka Sekula, a Croat with Swedish citizenship, for participation in the murder. On 1 January 2014, Josip Perković was arrested in Zagreb. His trial began in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in mid-2014. In August 2016, both Perković and Zdravko Mustač were proclaimed guilty in a first-instance verdict and sentenced to life imprisonment for abetting the murder of Đureković.

Publications

* ''Ja, Josip Broz-Tito: roman'', 1982. * ''Kako Jugoslavija pljačka Hrvatsku'', poslije 1982. * ''Komunizam: velika prevara'', 1982. * ''Sinovi orla = Bijt’ e Shqiponjës: roman'', 1982. * ''Slom ideala: (ispovijed Titovog ministra): roman'', 1982., New York, 1983. * ''Crveni menageri'', Washington, 1983. * ''Yugoslavia in crisis: the political and economic dimensions'', New York, 1983. (suautor Ivan Botić) * ''Yugoslavia’s energy crisis'', 1983.

References